Sacrifices
by Johnathan.Reynolds
Summary: John Reynolds, the co-founder of Synolvia Co. Air and Space started to settle down after the action that he had faced. He married Angela Michaels and is an apostle at the Sword of Truth Church. His usual routine was broken by murderous rage. A junior detective from the Kansas City Police Department in Kansas finds his murder case, the truth about his murder begins to unravel.
1. Introduction

Introduction

My life may have been a series of bad events and good, but God said that all things work out for his glory. At the end of my sixth-grade year, Dalton Sylva and I became best friends and he told me about a dream that he had. Dalton dreamed about a plane he called the Sparrow. In his first time telling me what it looked like there was a glimmer in his eyes. This dream was now his vision. Past dreams reflect on the future.

Johnathan Reynolds

May 19, 2020 Journal


	2. Chapter 1: The Price of Ideas

**The Price of Ideas**

"Please turn your hymnals to page 109 to sing Come and Dine. God is calling us to come and dine with him at his sweet table, those who are weary come even as we sing." It was just another cool bright Saturday morning worship service. My sermon I had written the night before was incomplete, as I had fallen asleep writing it. As I stood behind the podium I looked across the crowd that had exuberant and intent look on their faces as they looked at me. It was a look that was saying, "when do we start?" I then after a two minute pause bowed my head and prayed that the Lord would help me sort out these words on this page in front of me. After I said amen, it was like someone turned on a the light in a billboard with we should be ready to lay down our wants and help those around us in need, plastered on it. I started with a bible verse and stated, "Just as Jesus, our Savior, gave his life for you and me, we need to be ready to give our lives for others." What I did not know was that the Lord was preparing me for the time that was to come.

That night after a delicious supper of spaghetti and meatballs, we all sat down on a golden couch with flower designs in front of our TV that was mounted on the wall above the fireplace. We pulled up a creation video as we usually did on Saturday nights. Angela wanted popcorn, so I put it in the microwave. Just as the microwave beeped signifying that the popcorn was done, we heard a knock on the door. A muffled voice called through the door.

"Johnathan Reynolds. We need to speak to you. "

I opened the door that had been there so many years to see pair of men in suits. They claimed they were from a university and said that they were there to secure my patent for the Western States Patent Office.

"Mr. Reynolds. I am Mark Lutz and this is my partner Daniel Rackner, we are from Wichita State University. May we see your Electro-Matter converter?"

"Sorry, I don't do business on the weekends gentleman," I said sarcastically. I continued, "Anyways when did Universities start going around, bothering private inventors about their inventions on the weekend? After all, I have submitted my design to the patents office and they said they would send someone to check it out on Monday." I started to wonder how these people had found out about what I had been working on for the past five months in my shop. The electro-matter converter was designed to convert energy into matter and water into other matter. Or as some would think, make things come from thin air.

"Very well, Mr. Reynolds," He said.

He turned to his partner and told him, "Daniel, I need to speak to Mr. Reynolds alone."

As soon as his partner started to walk towards their large black SUV, Lutz said to me, "John, never forget, Justice will be served for the death. Those you love for the one who I loved. This is the true reason why I came here." As they walked to their car, I was shocked, so shocked that I stood there with the stark realization that Jack was still alive.

As soon as they sped down my driveway, my wife, Angela looked out the window. She looked at me sideways, as if to ask, _What was that about_?

"Just someone who was lost," I said.

She looked at me with her electric blue eyes and said, "John, is everything alright?"

We moved into my office to talk. Her look told me that she knew the seriousness of the situation. I then told her the story of Jack McCullum as I knew it. "Jack was the head of the Arachna Project and designed suits for repair for Synolvia's Research space station, Beta. That was about the time that the Western Rebellion had started. When Dalton launched his plane, the Sparrow, the president of America retaliated with a show of force. He launched anti-aircraft missiles just about the time we had launched a shuttle into space that would never make it to see if Dalton was still alive. Jack and his wife Lara barely made it to the International Space Station and soon became the new crew of the Sparrow. With that led to protecting it from the US Air Force. While covering for the Sparrow's take-off, Jack and Lara were wounded to the point that they lost too much blood; thus, they both fell into comas. After thirty minutes in the Medical Bay on the International Space Station, Lara's and Jack's vitals disappeared. Just tonight at the door, though, was Jack posing as FBI. Still alive, he threatened the lives of our family because of his hatred for me."

She returned with a fear-filled question, "What are you going to do?"

I sat there, and the air was so thick with tension that you could slice it with a knife. I thought about what I was going to do, and then I knew what it was. I thought about My wife and the years that we had been married, and then I thought of Jewell this afternoon when her brown, straight hair shone in the afternoon sun that was filtered through the trees, and her electric blue eyes. I would miss her and her mother.

"I am going to have to find him and talk to him."

_They look so much alike._


	3. Chapter 2: In Remembrance

In Remembrance

Excerpt from Journal _March 7, 2027_ Last night I stayed up late trying to find Jack McCullum. I rattled a few cages to try to find him, but it was to no avail. Last night has been documented, but what troubles me is what I might have to do to save my family. I prayed about it and as an answer I was reminded of a section from my sermon. I know that my life will probably be in very great danger today, but if something should happen to me, I hope that Angela will not contain herself and be alone. I hope that she will find someone that she will love.

_The writings before this point are from the once great light that was extinguished, John Reynolds. He was a visionary and a futurist. He knew that writing of his plight in what he called, the History of the Future would serve as a warning to the past of what could become._

_The rest of the chapter has been reconstructed by reports, friends, and by Johnathan's wife._

March 7, 2027 News; Co-founder of J.J.'s Warehouse Dies John Reynolds died from mugging in La Cygne. No one knew the reason, but one witness claimed that it was a confrontation between him and another person. The mugger who killed him is still at large. When he is caught he could, according to law could face up to seven years in jail on the account of second degree murder. Next Story was from Dalton Sylva, a Deacon of the Pillar of Truth Church.

Mini-sparrow yearly emergencies report, 2028: Alert. Alert. New incident found in LaCygne: one attacker, one dead. Identity of attacker: unknown. Identity of dead: Johnathan Reynolds. Reasons: unknown, potential mugging. Time of death: exactly one year ago, to the second. Send information to S-SAT, recommended in secret Morse code. Data sent.

By the time I received the message, I was working on my latest project, the Intellisphere. The Intellisphere would have allowed me access to all surveillance systems and satellites to track any target in the world. Unfortunately, that did not help me save my friend. What did he do to make someone want to kill him, send them to their doom? What am I thinking? The fact that this happened a year ago shocked me. I was in space once I got the report from my newest plane: the Mini Sparrow. After the Sparrow was re-commissioned and reconfigured with the Intellisphere, everything has been haywire.

While I was trying to figure out what had happened, my computer, S-SAT told me

something. "Dalton, the Mini Sparrow is sending a message for you."

"Put it on the interface."

"Wilco."

S-SAT showed me the message on my interface in the bridge of the Sparrow. It read: Stealth compromised. Targeted communication burst has been received by low frequency channel. Message is as follows.

A video message that went to live feed then appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Dalton."

"Jack?"

"That's correct."

"How are you doing?" I asked confused. This man, I thought, died in space around three to four years ago.

"Just fine."

"How are you still alive Mr. McCullum?"

"Oh I rebuilt myself."

"You don't have the resources."

"Of course I don't. By the way, in case you don't know, Project Arachna took care of that. But fixing me up did not make up for what I had lost to the hands of that wretched man."

"Don't remind me about your pain for Lara! You don't think that I cared? That I didn't regret sending her off like that?"

"That is not what I'm getting at. I'm just confirming what your snoop of a plane saw."

"What do you know about that plane?"

"It sticks its nose in other's business when it is not supposed to. That's what I know."

Finally, the truth came out.

"If I see that plane snooping around again, I will make sure you are charged with treason, and put under the severest punishment."

"Like I'm not already! I'm done here."

_And just like that, I hung up on him. I watched the sermon that John, my lost friend, sent me in case I got lonesome in space. I remembered his words about giving your life for someone else's. I had to find some way to meet John's replacement pastor, and my number one priority, to speak to Angela about John's death. The only problems were interference and belief. If the replacement got there first, and if Angela would forgive me because I wasn't there for John when he needed me. I wouldn't tell her everything at that moment because I was scared that she would not believe me. Something deep down told me something at that moment. I felt that I was being trained to face something similar to what John did. Except for some key differences, exactly congruent._

Sabre blueprints have been sent to office. Blueprints have been separated into segments. Arrowhead return protocol has been activated. All connections closed.

It was lonely for Angela for about eight years. She mourned Johnathan's death for two years then she turned her focus to starting a restaurant. It was one thing that she and Johnathan were planning to do the year he died. It was going to be a form of ministry to others by providing meals to those who could not afford them.

One bright Sunday morning on the anniversary of John's death, Angela was at the board meeting at the Pillar of Truth Church. There they were discussing the new applicant for the open minister's position. They said that he was about thirty-five and had been an evangelist and Police Staff Inspector of his division of the KCPD for three years. During his years as a Officer, he had studied at the University of Saint Paul. The Board was impressed by the credentials. The board decided to look into Nathan Bishope and they requested me to teach at their church that next Saturday.

That Saturday I conducted the service. I preached a sermon on hope. I said that there is a hope for those with a broken heart, for those widows who had long ago lost love because of the death of their husband, for those orphans that had lost the love of their parents. It was then that I shared my whole life story, and then stating how the Lord had helped me along the way.

When I was eight years old, my dad was a detective in the KCPD. A gang that he was investigating for racketeering had a turf war with a rival gang and thought he was working for them. One night my father and mother were on their way home from the grocery store, and I was already home from school. Just about the time they would usually be unlocking the door, I heard a barrage of gunshots and some of the windows were shot out. I ducked for cover. After I heard car wheels squeal away, I ran out the door to see my mother and father on the front steps. The State of Kansas awarded my guardianship to my closest living relative, my Uncle Tim. He was an older man who had fought in boxing matches and would come home and beat on me. One time that I retaliated, he threw me out the door to fend for myself. For four years I lived in the dismal streets of Northern Kansas City, fending for my life and living alone. It was then I learned the brutality of crime in the city. I was there in the slums with all the homeless, rapists, and thieves. When I was taken in by the Bishope family, I was thirteen years old I was nearly hardened by my time living on the streets. Every Saturday they would go to an independent church that was Crysler Church. The church services were boring and almost everyone was above the age of fifty, except the Bishopes. A year after they took me in, they officially adopted me and I knew what love was. Through my dad, Meyer, I saw the love of God and I accepted Christ.

After that moment, my life changed. When I had finished my schooling, I joined the police force as a lieutenant. I felt another call on my life from the Master. To restore true mercy in the Church of God, to show compassion to those less fortunate. On November 12, 2029 I moved to the "Little City", Swan City to investigate in the death of John Reynolds.

After the sermon the crowd was full of tears and then I said, "And God is with me."

Some of the church, including the late pastor's wife were crying out to God at the altar for his light to be in their life. It turned out to be an amazing call in the end and I knew that those people would never be the same again.

Later, I visited everyone that was up at the alter to make sure that they were happy with their newfound joy. The people's faces were so bright that it seemed like the sun was in the room they were occupying. As soon as I reached the Reynolds' house, I was met by a farm hand, Spencer Mattz. Since I was new in the area, I asked him to accompany me inside. He knocked on the door signifying that there was a visitor. Within a span of a few minutes I saw the pastor's wife standing there with a smile on her face and a bright spark that had not been in her eyes before.


	4. Chapter 3: New Life

**New Life**

Angela Reynolds had a new look in her eyes than she had before. It was one of new hope, and one of a bright resolution.

In a not so over-chipper voice she said, "Come in and sit down."

I then proceeded to ask how she was feeling and asked her other questions to determine how she was. After ten minutes went by, a young girl and boy entered the room. I said "Hello, I am your new minister, Pastor Nathan Bishope. How are you two children today?"

"Not so happy that this week was the week that dad was killed," said the girl. She then said, "Oh but my name is Jewell Gabrielle and this is my younger brother Johnathan."

Jewell started to cry some tears when I said that her daddy was just fine and in the hands of God.

"Trust me Jewell, I know what it is like to lose both my parents at a young age. But the Lord sent me some new loving parents to help me through the pain." I noticed that this family must have gone through a great time of pain, losing a parent like I did, I understood their pain. I knew that someone being there for me was a great help thus I offered a helping hand, "Mrs. Reynolds, if you ever need me to run any errands for you, it would be an honor to help."

"Thank you, Pastor."

After a whole year of running errands for Angela, her and I became best friends. She asked me one night to take her and her children to dinner. We had fun at Reynolds Cafe in town. My favorite meal from there was the Country Fried Steak Dinner. I got time to bond and talk with Angela's children and grew to know their likes and desires. As I also learned their mother's dreams, something seemed different between us. This continued for two other times. On the third time, Angela had left her children with their Aunt Elaine.

Angela on that night had a very fancy desert she ordered that she said she would pay for. As I was sitting there, I wondered what it could be. After our meal, Angela took out a box and then she outright, in front of everyone else proposed to me.

One month later, we got married and then when we got home Jewell asked to go to a friend's house and then Angela told her, "No, sweety, not now."

Jewell then asked again and then I said in a low quiet tone, "Jewell, your mother said no."

She then yelled out, "Your not my father, don't tell me what to do!"

I was shocked. The sweet girl who I had known for a year now had just yelled at me. And then she ran to her room crying. Angela was about to run in there and see what was the real reason, but I stopped her saying, "Angie, this is something I need to resolve myself."

I opened the door to Jewell's room and was greeted by a "go-away." I shut the door quietly, sat down on the chair by her desk and said with a voice that was calm and assuring, "Jewell, remember what I said when we first met?"

She sniffled a bit and dried some tears and said, "Yeah."

"The Lord sent me to help you through the pain. Did you know that?"

"No," she said with tears starting to well up in her eyes.

I sighed and continued, "I can't help you through that pain, kiddo, if you won't tell me or you mother what is bothering you. Why did you really want to go see your friend?"

"I really don't want to talk about it." Her voice had a slight tinge of irritation, so I did what any parent in my situation would do, ask some leading questions. "Jewell, why did you say I'm not your father?"

"Because you aren't," she snapped.

Now that I had some confirmation of her feelings, I knew the source. I turned the conversation back to what was bothering her. "Jewell, if you needed to go to your friend's house to talk with her, why didn't you say so? I know that even after my salvation, I still needed someone to talk to about the loss of a dear person."

"Who was that?"

Jewell's interest was peaked and I started to regret what I had just said, but I had to tell her.

"Your mother."

"How did you lose her?"

"Jewell, I know we will never resolve this unless I tell you."

"Tell me what?"

I let out a small sigh and prayed that the Lord would give me strength to say what I needed to say.

"Jewell, your father did not die there in the alley like they said he did."

"How do you know this," she asked with a slightly irritated voice.

Somehow all Johnathan's memories came flooding into my head. I let out a small groan and I pulled out Johnathan's watch and glasses to show her.  
She looked at the watch and glasses and froze, as if to look at the blue rims that were starting to fade, and the dull metal of the wrist watch in my hand. Jewell asked in a slightly apprehensive voice, "Where did you get those?"

"I have had them since March 7, 2027."

"What, you're telling me that you're my dad?"

"Yes, Jewell, I am your father." I suddenly started to feel like a load had been lifted off my chest, but then I knew things had just got suddenly worse.

"Then why did you leave me and Mom at the time when we needed you?"

"Jewell, I was badly injured in a gas line explosion in an alleyway and if I had returned, you and your mother would have been in greater danger."

"Why daddy?"

"Because a very bad man wanted to kill you and your mother. All since he blamed his wife's death on me."

As I saw that I still had her attention, I said, "Jewell, you throwing a fit made it to where I could not tell your mother who I was. But now that I am in here, I think that it is best that she doesn't know. It would only make her worry about Jack again. Anyways, I knew that my little girl would be more understanding why I had to leave."

"You were right, daddy, I've missed you."

At the sound of that answer, I was relieved. For a minute, I thought that my Jewell might have not forgiven me. Fortunately, I have an awesome daughter. I had to tell her one last thing.

"Jewell, I don't know if you realize yet, but all of my memory was removed. If you give me a chance I would like to be your father, as Nath-" I was cut short and fell into a seizure. The memories imposed on my brain was too much for it and it was starting to reject them. It was like things started to black out and I saw a flare in my field of vision. Jewell looked at me and just about screamed for Angela. It was then that Cy took the memories out of my head before they set like cement.


	5. Chapter 4: Mysteries Begin

**Mysteries Begin**

I was finally safe, but during my seizure, one of Johnathan's memories was re-implemented in my mind. It was of a plane called the Seagull (SC-MR-1). Being in the technological sector of business had left me with a curiosity that always bit at me. I had to find where that plane was. I knew that my key to that information was the house AI.

Just after the house had been bombed by the US Air-force, John had the house rebuilt and outfitted with a computer AI, whose name is Cyrus. Cyrus (Cy) was built to be a source of computation for the newly built Holographic Robot, Spencer Mattz. Cy also was built to be an AWACS for John when he was out and about. Cy was just almost human and was taught to keep secrets but he finally opened up to me when I had been married to Angela for nearly a month. He told me that Johnathan had opened a store in Swan City called J.J.'s Warehouse, which sold groceries, hardware, and camping gear. I realized even though Cy had opened up to me, he was not about to tell me about the Seagull, so I had to ask Angela what she knew about it.

"I know that John had a plane called the Seagull, it is one of two planes of that series that have multi-roll characteristics," she said.

"Is there any place that Johnathan would have stored his designs?"

Angela said that she needed to go to the office and get something for me. She returned with an old computer that was black with a Dell logo on the back.

If there are any designs left, John would've stored them on this computer," she opened the laptop and sat it in front of me.

Once Angela gave me the laptop, I powered it on. There was a system that I had never seen before. Its startup screen was a green mint leaf. When Angela came back into the room she said, "Sorry Nathan, I forgot to type in the password for you."

"This system is different, what is it?" I asked Angela in curiosity.

"That is Linux Mint 22.2 Valerie, John's preferred computer system. He felt that is was the most private and secure out there."

"Didn't he have his own Operating System that he made?"

"Yes, but he wanted to have one computer that was stable that he could test the applications for that system on," she explained.

Angela got out a sheet of paper and wrote down the two passwords that Johnathan had used often and wished me good luck on my search as she headed out the door to get groceries for supper that night.

Once the computer had logged in, I started probing though the system an found that it was layered with another computer system below it. I accessed the other system and found its desktop. On it was a file called _Static ._

When I clicked _Static Current_, there was a code prompt, I typed in his two passwords that John used often. The background then changed to a symbol that had holographic wings and a cursive GL on it. As I looked at the design, I imported my design for my suit that I had when I was Ionizer. When I combined the suits, it seemed like the flaws in both suits were solved.

The flaws in the Static Current Suit included on-board communication device failure when charging, HUD miss-recognition, and Electro-matter Conversion failure. The flaws on the Ionizer suit included servo lag.

Once the suits were combined, the diagnostic screen showed that the flaws had been fixed by another alternate design that had somehow been implemented in the combination process. After the suit was combined the program asked for a color scheme. The coloration scheme was combination of both suits and was then adjusted to make the colors be in the same color palate.

After I hit the save button, I heard a rumbling underneath the house and then the sound of moving concrete. I ran to find the source of it and found that a wall that was in a closet in the small south bathroom downstairs had moved and opened to a tunnel that was almost 7 ft long. At the end of the tunnel there was a small room with a medium size corner desk with four screens on it. One had a spinning GL logo like the one that had been on the computer in Johnathan's office. To my sight there were no keyboards or any mice. When I set my hands on the desk, the keyboard and mouse pad appeared on it in a red and yellow laser outlines. There were two boxes that were projecting them. From these I could tell that Johnathan was into new tech and enjoyed desk space.

From what I could tell this room was merely a lab for experiments. All the walls were concrete and were stained with random burn marks. When I tapped on the laser keyboard, the spinning GL Logo disappeared. There on the screen was a login screen that said, "User in Sleep." When I entered the password, there was a dialog box that was begging someone to do something. I clicked okay and it showed a compound. One that was unfamiliar to me. I hacked into the GPS of the remote system and the sound. On the system's video a time-stamp appeared _Synolvia CAS Cam. 1._ Immediately after I saw lights in the distance. The distance of the lights were far apart and looked like they were from a airplane. A realization hit me, CAS had to do with An Aerospace Company.

After 2 hours of searching, I found a lonely under-kept looking website which had the address _ ._ On the main page was a bright place with a metal, maybe even possibly a building that had iron siding. In front of it there was a sign that said "Synolvia Co. Air and Space."

The next day, I had a press conference scheduled to put to rest the fears of the people that Johnathan's killer was not a threat…

"Mr. Bishope, Mr. Bishope! Are you sure that John Reynolds's death was not some conspiracy we were lead to believe?"

"Mr. Reynolds's death was a shock to this city I can see, but no one else is apparently being targeted. Though his killer got away before he could be identified."

"But, Mr. Bishope, where is this killer going? Do you think he will go for any friends of John?"

"We here at the Swan City PD have done extensive research and investigation into this matter and have found that this man who calls himself Justice is not a threat to any others related to Johnathan.

"One question a little branched away from this topic Mr. Bishope, I'm just curious: does the SCPD know anything about the whereabouts of Mr. Sylva, Co-owner of Synolvia Co.?"

"Excuse me, who?"

"Mr. Dalton Sylva, owner, builder, and pilot of the Sparrow, sir."

"We do not have any further information except what has already been presented today, I will take no further questions."

As you would expect there was the sound of people shouting, "Mr. Bishop," wanting me to answer the many questions that they had. On my drive home all those questions led to more questions in my mind. There were only a few clues from the reporters that I could extract, but they were enough.

I arrived home about 6 o'clock in the evening to be met by the sweet smell of roast and mashed potatoes with green beans and bacon on the side. Jewell had neatly set the table as was her custom every night. We all sat down to pray before enjoying the delicious meal that John Jr. had cooked for mother's day. Who taught this boy to cook so well, I marveled.

"I saw the press conference today on Channel 7 News. You don't know who Dalton is," asked Angie. She made it sound like I was living under some stone and looked at me like I was crazy. After taking another bite of wonderfully cooked mashed potatoes with brown gravy, I responded, "I'm sorry Angie, I don't even know who Dalton is."

"He is the current owner of Synolvia Co. Air and Space, which by the way is currently going in a downward spiral in funds since John's death. Dalton always said that John was the business minded part of the Synolvia Co. Team."

"Is there anything that could be done to revive the place, Angie?"

"Unfortunately not. The only way is if someone were to invest more money in the right places. Dalton always relied on John to put the money in the right places. When John passed, Dalton did not want Tanner to take care of his money. He said it was out of honor for John that he would try to manage his money."

I pondered the issue as Angela tucked the children in bed. After reading a bedtime story to Jewell and John, Jr., Angela returned to the kitchen and tripped over me. I quickly swept her up before she fell. She looked at me with a shocked face and then smiled sweetly. She said, "Nathan, if you pull that stunt again, I will have to give you a longer kiss."


End file.
